Television Programming in Saudi

And now for one of my favorite subjects: television! I grew up in a strictly religious household, and for much of my childhood, tv viewing was either closely regulated or cut out altogether. I'm sure I have that to blame for why I'm such a viewing fanatic now. Here in the kingdom, and more specifically on the compound, one has three different options for television programming. 

First, everyone on the compound gets free "cable", a selection of AFN (Armed Forces Network) channels mixed with well known American basic cable channels and a smattering of international news, sports and music channels. Following are just some of the available channels:

Nat Geo

Animal Planet

Discovery

Travel 

History

Itv

BBC Lifestyle

Fox movies

TCM

E! 

Disney

Cartoon Network

Boomerang

MTV

VH1

And as mentioned, a small selection of British, French and Filipino programming are also available. The downside is the reception on several of the channels, (often including the AFN channel that airs football) is poor, filled with static and often cutting out every few seconds.

Second option: Pay for expanded cable packages through an actual cable company. We use OSN based out of Dubai, reception is perfect (always) and we have something like over 200 channels. Now, half are Arabic, but we get a selection of channels most like what we are used to in the states, although it doesn't (of course) include local channels (ie., ABC, NBC) or the premium movie channels like HBO. You do have channels that play popular programming like Scandal, the Ellen show, SNL and the Tonight Show, though they are jumbled together and not a whole channel's regular lineup. We pay $80 (US) a month for this service and I enjoy it for it's three Disney channels (for my pre-schooler), the expanded Discovery and Nat Geo channels, and the included DVR that let's me schedule and auto record our shows. This company also regularly airs seasonal programming containing Christmas, Halloween and other holiday themes beloved by Anericans.

The third option is to use a VPN service (which if you haven't heard of this, it's faster for you to Google it than for me to try to explain it) and download the shows you want from the internet. (We do not do this.) Virtually every show, with the exception of the very obscure can be found on the internet and downloaded for free. (Again, we do not do this.) By using a VPN service (like Golden Frog) you bypass Saudi-blocked websites and connect to servers in other countries that do not ban illegal downloading like the US or Saudi. You can get a package through GF for $15-$20. (We do NOT have one or more VPN packages.) For those that do, they are often only one day behind the US in watching any newly run episode, including shows on HBO, Showtime and STARZ, as well as seasonal events like the Academy Awards, Super Bowl, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade or Victoria's Secret Fashion Show! (Lol)

I would say we utilize all three options, but of course we ONLY do the first two! There are NO shows we miss out on by being here, even those exclusive to Netflix and other streaming sites that require a membership. All shows downloaded from the net (so I'm told:) are uploaded without commercials, so in 10 months of television watching I've never had to fast forward through commercials like I did back home. (Don't miss that!)

In short, I'm up on all my shows more so than even in the States, and there's nothing I miss. Whatever option(s) you choose, you can rest assured there will be plenty of beloved theme songs and familiar faces of the small screen coming your way:)